Summary: Rethinking what is required from Ps. 9 when I come to worship.

Intro: I recently read an article in a journal that quoted Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. In this article on worship, Piper was quoted as saying: ?Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn?t.? Far from putting missions down, Piper is holding forth the supreme importance of worship ? both now and forever. ?Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. Worship abides forever. Do you realize the Scriptures give guidance as to how we are to worship God? God invites us to worship Him, but there are four determinations found in today?s passage that each of us are to make.

Prop: Taking Ps. 9:1-2 as our example, we will notice 4 determinations each Christian must make for divine worship.

BG: 1. Ps. 9 is a Psalm of Praise to God for His deliverance. Is a Psalm of King David?s.

2. I have called these ?determinations?, four choices of the will David states when worships.

3. Please note there are no age restrictions to these determinations. Young and old alike.

Prop: Let us examine the four determinations of King David that each Christian should also adopt in his worship of the Lord.

I. 1st Determination: I am to Give Thanks in My Worship of God!

A. Thankfulness to God is a Choice of the Will

1. It is Essential to Worship that the Christian comes to the Lord with Thankfulness

a. Each one of us has a choice to make each day. We can choose to live this day thankful in light of God?s mercy towards us, or we can choose to live ungrateful and bitter lives.

b. Ungrateful individuals are incomplete in their ability to worship God.

2. At times need holy determination to face Foe and Bless the Lord in the Face of the Enemy

a. bg ? Psalm 9 is in many ways a Ps. of praise and thanksgiving to God for giving David victory over his enemies and the enemies of his country. .

b. Illust- Is there someone causing you great conflict? Unreasonable, profane, nit-picking, etc. Get under your skin. Praise God in the midst for what doing in your life.

B. The Psalmist Calls for Whole-hearted Thankfulness.

1. Whole-hearted thankfulness is to encompass the total man/woman

a. ?with all my heart? ? ?all the powers of his mind, heart and soul are focused in taking part in the worship of God.?

b. If we are going to praise God acceptably we are to praise Him not only with our lips but also with our hearts and our whole beings.

2. Whole-hearted thankfulness is understood in light of the Person of God.

Illust- A.W. Tozer: great CMA pastor: ?In my opinion the great single need of the moment is that light-hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple, for the holy art of worship seems to have passed away like the Shekinah glory of the tabernacle.?

C. Applic: Are you a thankful Christian? Answer should be unanimous ?Yes!?.

II. 2nd Determination: I am to Tell of God?s Wonders!

A. Modern Christians need to Realize Worship is to be Participatory.

1. We are to enjoy every opportunity to worship

a. Worship is not to be passive! It is to be participatory. Illust- Going to worship is not to be like watching t.v. T.V. is a passive mode of entertainment. The seeker-sensitive model of worship which has inundated modern American evangelicalism is rarely any different than watching one?s favorite television program. (No commitment to a local fellowship, no discipline, appeals to the most common and base level of selfish and self-centered spirituality which leads to fat and sassy, lazy believers unwilling and unable to impact world for Christ.)

b. Illust- Do you and I tell of God?s wonders when He answers prayers in marvelous way? (Lk. 19:40 ? Don?t stifle praise or very rocks will cry out!)

B. It is Natural for Individuals to Tell of God?s Wonders when they have been blessed by Him.

1.

Illust: It is natural for us to rejoice and tell others when we have received something good from the Lord. IN Lk. 15 ? 3 parables about something lost that is later found: Lost sheep (1 of 100), lost coin (1 of 10), lost son (1 of 2). In each case the individual: shepherd, woman, father of the prodigal, rejoices when that which was lost is found. Invite friends and neighbors to ?rejoice? with them. (v.6, 9, 23). Others too: Matthew, Zacceus, etc.